DC-DC power converters are utilized in situations where one DC voltage is converted to another DC voltage. In one application, that associated with PC based systems, the processor requires a fairly low voltage and a fairly high current. Rather than convert an incoming AC voltage down to a very low DC voltage and then route the low DC voltage across a PC board, a higher DC voltage is output by the power supply, routed around to the various components on the PC board and then, proximate to the processor, the voltage is down converted to a very low level on the order of 1.0 V. This requires a conversion device to be disposed proximate to one or more high current integrated circuits on the board.
Typical DC-DC converters are fabricated using a switching supply that utilizes a switched inductor or capacitor configuration with the input DC voltage switched to the input thereof with a periodically waveform operating at a preset switching frequency with a varying duty cycle. By sensing the output voltage and comparing it with a desired voltage, the duty cycle of the waveform can be adjusted to control the amount of current supplied to the reactive components. This control is facilitated with a negative feedback control loop.
There are two types of feedback loops, an analog feedback loop and a digital feedback loop. The analog feedback loop is well understood and provides some advantages over the other type of feedback loop, the digital feedback loop. Each of the feedback loops has associated therewith a voltage sense input for sensing the supply output voltage and a pulse width modulator (PWM) for generating switching pulses for driving switches. The sensed voltage is compared in the analog domain to a desired operating DC voltage to generate an error voltage that is reduced to essentially zero volts at regulation. To compensate for loop phase shift, there is provided a compensator. This provides some phase lead in the feedback loop for the purpose of loop stability. The digital controller portion of the digital feedback loop is similar to the analog feedback loop. The voltage signal sense input utilizes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to convert the output voltage to a digital value and then compare this to a desired voltage to determine the difference voltage as an error voltage. A digital compensator then provides some phase lead to the feedback to maintain stability in the control loop. This digital error voltage is then converted into a varying pulse width for output to the driving switches on the switching converter. This in effect is a digital-to-analog converter. Typical switching converters such as buck converters can utilize single or multiple phases to facilitate the switching operation.
Analog controllers do not have the ability to independently control the dead time for control signals for complementary switchers. For analog controllers the rising edge of a second control signal is based upon a falling edge of a first control signal. Thus, the second control signal is completely dependent on the falling edge of the first control signal. Some manner for independently controlling arising edge of a second control signal with respect to a falling edge of the first control signal would provide much greater control of the operation of the switched power supply.
High power switched power supplies often have problems when switching between complementary switches of the supply with various power losses. These power losses can be caused by shoot through currents, body diode conduction, RDS on losses and gate losses within the switches of the switched power supply. Thus it here is a need for the ability to control these losses within controllers providing control signals to the switched power supplies. By minimizing or eliminating these losses, the power supplies may be programmed to operate with improved power efficiencies thus improving the overall operation of the switched power supply circuitry.